{"id":259104,"date":"2024-09-10T00:41:31","date_gmt":"2024-09-10T00:41:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/09\/10\/endangered-wombats-rare-encounter-with-echidna-caught-on-camera\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T17:11:26","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T17:11:26","slug":"endangered-wombats-rare-encounter-with-echidna-caught-on-camera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/09\/10\/endangered-wombats-rare-encounter-with-echidna-caught-on-camera\/","title":{"rendered":"Endangered wombat&#8217;s rare encounter with echidna caught on camera"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>\n    <iframe title=\"Watch a rare interaction between a wombat and an echidna\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EzTU_4Zh4nc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\n    <\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<p>A rare and boisterous encounter between a young wombat and a spiny echidna has been caught on camera, to the delight of Australian conservationists.<\/p>\n<p>The exuberant behaviour captured by a camera trap is a sign that a gamble to establish a third population of critically endangered northern hairy-nosed wombats (<em>Lasiorhinus krefftii<\/em>) in Queensland, Australia, is paying off.<\/p>\n<p>At their lowest point in the late 1990s, there were as few as 35 individuals living in a single, small reserve in central Queensland, making the wombats among the rarest large mammals on Earth. Now, after a determined conservation effort, their numbers have grown to around 400. Translocations to\u00a0the fenced Richard Underwood Nature Refuge in southern Queensland began in 2009, and there are now around 15 individuals at this site.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.australianwildlife.org\/meet-the-people-of-awc\/\">Andy Howe <\/a>at the Australian Wildlife Conservancy in Newcastle, Australia, was trawling through 100 hours of footage recorded at the refuge when two clips caught his eye. The first, from early June, showed a juvenile northern hairy-nosed wombat, proving that the reserve\u2019s population was successfully rearing young that were progressing to foraging independently. Howe says the wombat appears to be in good condition, with a consistent coat and healthy weight.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"js-content-prompt-opportunity\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Then, in footage captured a month later, he spotted the interaction between a young wombat and a short-beaked echidna (<em>Tachyglossus aculeatus<\/em>). The echidna is seen waddling around the frame, apparently unperturbed, while the wombat gets increasingly agitated and throws itself into the dirt.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/australian.museum\/about\/history\/exhibitions\/trailblazers\/tim-flannery\/\">Tim Flannery<\/a> at the Australian Museum, Sydney, says in all of his decades studying mammals he has never seen an interaction like it. \u201cIt\u2019s a nervous wombat and a happy echidna,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"ArticleImage\">\n<div class=\"Image__Wrapper\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"Image\" width=\"1350\" height=\"900\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/09121811\/SEI_220341144.jpg\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1288px) 837px, (min-width: 1024px) calc(57.5vw + 55px), (min-width: 415px) calc(100vw - 40px), calc(70vw + 74px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/09121811\/SEI_220341144.jpg?width=300 300w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/09121811\/SEI_220341144.jpg?width=400 400w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/09121811\/SEI_220341144.jpg?width=500 500w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/09121811\/SEI_220341144.jpg?width=600 600w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/09121811\/SEI_220341144.jpg?width=700 700w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/09121811\/SEI_220341144.jpg?width=800 800w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/09121811\/SEI_220341144.jpg?width=837 837w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/09121811\/SEI_220341144.jpg?width=900 900w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/09121811\/SEI_220341144.jpg?width=1003 1003w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/09121811\/SEI_220341144.jpg?width=1100 1100w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/09121811\/SEI_220341144.jpg?width=1200 1200w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/09121811\/SEI_220341144.jpg?width=1300 1300w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/09121811\/SEI_220341144.jpg?width=1400 1400w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/09121811\/SEI_220341144.jpg?width=1500 1500w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/09121811\/SEI_220341144.jpg?width=1600 1600w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/09121811\/SEI_220341144.jpg?width=1674 1674w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/09121811\/SEI_220341144.jpg?width=1700 1700w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/09121811\/SEI_220341144.jpg?width=1800 1800w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/09121811\/SEI_220341144.jpg?width=1900 1900w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/09121811\/SEI_220341144.jpg?width=2006 2006w\" loading=\"eager\" fetchpriority=\"high\" data-image-context=\"Article\" data-image-id=\"2447121\" data-caption=\"A northern hairy-nosed wombat at Richard Underwood Nature Refuge in Queensland, Australia\" data-credit=\"Brad Leue\/Australian Wildlife Conservancy\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"ArticleImageCaption\">\n<div class=\"ArticleImageCaption__CaptionWrapper\">\n<p class=\"ArticleImageCaption__Title\">A northern hairy-nosed wombat at Richard Underwood Nature Refuge in Queensland, Australia<\/p>\n<p class=\"ArticleImageCaption__Credit\">Brad Leue\/Australian Wildlife Conservancy<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p>It is typical behaviour for an echidna because their spines make them difficult and dangerous to attack, he says. Throughout most of the clip, the wombat has its rear end facing the monotreme \u2013 a defensive stance that they employ in their tunnels to push intruders against the roof of their burrows.<\/p>\n<p>To see such natural, wild behaviour for a creature that came so close to extinction is \u201cfantastic\u201d, says Flannery. \u201cThis is very heartening to see these wombats doing so well,\u201d he says. Now it has been proven how well translocation has worked, he suggests new populations should be established elsewhere as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n<p>Before the arrival of Europeans, the species was found from northern Victoria all the way through to arid New South Wales and up to central Queensland. There would be huge environmental benefits to seeing them re-established across their range, says Flannery.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re an ecosystem engineer because they dig and turn over soils,\u201d he says. \u201cTheir burrows offer refuge to other creatures during heatwaves, drought and fires.\u201d<\/p>\n<section class=\"ArticleTopics\">\n<p class=\"ArticleTopics__Heading\">Topics:<\/p>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<p>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/2447118-endangered-wombats-rare-encounter-with-echidna-caught-on-camera\/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&#038;utm_source=NSNS&#038;utm_medium=RSS&#038;utm_content=home\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] A rare and boisterous encounter between a young wombat and a spiny echidna has been caught on camera, to the delight of Australian conservationists.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":259105,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[177],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259104"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=259104"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259104\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/259105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=259104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=259104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=259104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}